A hosted application is a software application where the software resides on servers that are accessed through a wide-area network, such as the Internet, rather than more traditional software that is installed on a local server or on individual client computers. Hosted applications may also be known as Internet-applications, application service providers (“ASPs”), web-based applications, or on-line applications. Hosted applications are commonly utilized concurrently by multiple organizations, called “tenants.”
Hosted, multi-tenant applications are often unable to maintain high performance operation and an acceptable level of responsiveness when the number of concurrent operations increases dramatically. For instance, previous hosted, multi-tenant applications are generally able to provide acceptable performance during normal levels of activity. However, when the activity level spikes dramatically, such as during end-of-month processing or other peak periods, previous hosted, multi-tenant systems may become unresponsive.
One method for improving the performance of a hosted, multi-tenant application is to require tenants to perform large processing jobs at night, on weekends, or at other off-peak times. This solution, however, is generally unacceptable to the tenants, which commonly pay a fee for use of the hosted application and expect the hosted application to be performant at all times. Another solution is to install hardware capable of providing an acceptable level of responsiveness even during the highest load periods. This solution, however, can be extremely expensive to implement and maintain, and also results in significantly underutilized server capacity during off-peak periods.
It is with respect to these considerations and others that the disclosure made herein is provided.